Has Trump’s Executive Order Revived TikTok in the US?
A new executive action by President-elect Donald Trump is poised to temporarily reinstate the popular app following its ban on Saturday.
TikTok users in the United States regained partial access to the app on Sunday, just hours before President-elect Donald Trump’s promised executive order was set to take effect. The app had been taken offline earlier that day after the US Supreme Court upheld a new law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok to an American firm. This marked the first such legal action against a major social media platform in the US.
Trump, set to take office on Monday, has pledged to issue an executive order upon his swearing-in that would temporarily halt the ban, giving TikTok additional time to comply. At a rally on Sunday, Trump declared, “As of today, TikTok is back,” citing its role in winning over young voters during the November elections.
Here’s a breakdown of the situation:
How Did Trump Reverse the TikTok Ban?
In a reversal of his earlier stance, President-elect Trump promised on Sunday to issue an executive order that would pause the federal ban on TikTok. The order, he explained, would extend the deadline for TikTok to comply with the law, allowing the company to find a U.S. partner to share 50 percent ownership. Trump previously indicated that this order would be in place for an initial 90-day period.
Is TikTok Operational in the US Again?
TikTok confirmed it was in the process of restoring service, thanking Trump for his efforts to ensure that service providers would not face penalties. TikTok’s hosting partners, Oracle and Akamai, resumed their services, and US users who had previously downloaded the app received a "welcome back" message, stating, "As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US."
Before the order was enacted, users were met with a notification explaining that the app was unavailable due to the new law.
Can New Users Download TikTok Again?
Not yet. As of Monday, TikTok was still unavailable for download on both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, with both platforms citing “US legal requirements” for the pause. The law prohibiting TikTok also includes hefty fines for companies that continue providing services to the app.
Why Was TikTok Banned in the First Place?
The push to ban TikTok has been ongoing for several years, largely driven by concerns over national security and data privacy. In 2020, then-President Trump attempted to ban TikTok, claiming that the app’s Chinese ownership could allow the Chinese government to access the data of over 170 million American users. Despite TikTok’s attempt to partner with Oracle for data protection, Congress continued to press for a ban.
In March 2024, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), which gave TikTok a January 19, 2025 deadline to either sell to a US company or shut down. After a failed legal challenge, the US Supreme Court upheld the law, leading to the app’s initial shutdown on Saturday.
Allegations of Racial Bias
Some analysts have raised concerns that the ban is rooted in racial bias, pointing out that other US-based tech giants like Facebook and Google also have access to vast amounts of personal data. Critics argue that TikTok is being unfairly targeted because of its Chinese ownership, with some Chinese Americans condemning the action as xenophobic.
Rights groups such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice have voiced strong opposition to the ban, calling it discriminatory and hypocritical in light of similar actions by American companies.
Reactions to Trump’s Executive Order
Trump’s announcement of a temporary reprieve for TikTok has sparked mixed reactions. Some Republican lawmakers, including Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts, have argued that any delay in enforcing the ban would be legally unjustified unless ByteDance severed its ties to China. The senators praised tech giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft for complying with the law.
On the other hand, Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, voiced his opposition to a TikTok ban, arguing it could infringe on free speech rights. Musk acknowledged, however, that the current situation, where TikTok operates in the US but Twitter is banned in China, presents an imbalance.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Mao Ning called for a "fair and non-discriminatory" business environment, noting that TikTok had created jobs in the US.
As President Trump prepares to take office, the fate of TikTok in the US remains in flux, with his executive order offering a temporary reprieve for the app while the company works to comply with new regulations.